Equinor ASA Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:EQNR)

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 5,378 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 107% compared to the average volume of 2,598 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQNR. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 254.5% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,009.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Equinor ASA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.10.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $25.62 on Wednesday. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $21.85 and a one year high of $29.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. On average, analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.46%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.30%.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

Equinor ASA, an energy company, engages in the exploration, production, transportation, refining, and marketing of petroleum and other forms of energy in Norway and internationally. It operates through Exploration & Production Norway; Exploration & Production International; Exploration & Production USA; Marketing, Midstream & Processing; Renewables; and Other segments.